Economy and Trade
Trade talks. Trade war negotiators are due to meet in Shanghai next week. A statement from the White House said talks will begin on July 30, with the regular crowd of Robert Lighthizer, Steven Mnuchin and Liu He. Caixin
Trade balks. China's exports for the first half of 2019 rose just 0.1%, with exports to the U.S. retreating 8.1% – but Chinese imports of U.S. goods dropped a steeper 30%, with imports sliding 4.3% overall. South China Morning Post
A developing issue. President Trump delivered an ultimatum to the WTO, calling on the organization to terminate a provision that allows countries to self-determine whether they are a "developing" economy. Close to two-thirds of the WTO's 164 members claim "developing" status, but Trump's outrage is directed specifically at China. Trump's administration said if progress on the provision isn't made in 90 days, the U.S. would decide for itself which countries to treat as "developing" economies. New York Times
Digging out the farmers. The Trump Administration is preparing a $16 billion relief package for U.S. farmers hurt by the trade war. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the grant shows that President Trump recognizes farmers are "fighting the fight" against China. Trump previously said China is "letting [the U.S.] down" by not buying more agriculture products, with soybean shipments hitting a 16-year low. Guardian
Innovation and Tech
A new bourse on the Bund. China's new tech stock exchange, the Nasdaq-style STAR board in Shanghai, had a tumultuous debut this week when 25 companies launched on the bourse Monday. And launch they did – the average share price shot up 140% on the first day. Shares in Anji Microelectronics Tech, a semi-conductor maker, rocketed 400%. But what goes up comes down, and 9% was wiped off the board's accumulative market cap on Tuesday as investors retreated. Fortune
A new satellite in the sky. Sticking with stars a moment – iSpace became China's first private company to launch a satellite into orbit on Thursday. The start-up is just three years old and beat out two competitors in the field, which launched failed attempts to boost rockets into orbit earlier this year. Quartz
New clouds on the horizon. Alibaba has become the exclusive provider of Salesforce cloud services in greater China through a partnership with the U.S. company that secures Salesforce as Alibaba's exclusive customer relationship management (CRM) suite offering. Beijing requires foreign tech companies to partner with local companies to process Chinese data, so a partnership was Salesforce's only way in. Financial Times
A new beat for Bytedance. TikTok, the viral short-video app, has reportedly bought London-based AI start-up Jukedeck, which develops A.I. that can scan videos and automatically compose music to fit the setting. TikTok hasn't confirmed the purchase but all the Jukedeck tema have changed their LinkedIn profiles to indicate they're working at Bytedance, TikTok's parent. Bytedance is reportedly planning to launch a Spotify-like music streaming service this year too. TechCrunch
Making AI Ethical
With an increasing number of companies using artificial intelligence in their operations, ethical concerns are now coming to the fore. Rather than wait for regulation, businesses may start to tackle these issues on their own. Deloitte explains.
Read more
In Case You Missed It
China Needs New Places to Sell Its Mountain of Stuff NYT
How to Choose Between the U.S. and China? It's Not That Easy The Atlantic
Li Peng, Ex-Chinese Premier and Tiananmen Hard-Liner, Dies at 90 WSJ
Politics and Policy
Hong Kong gets aggressive. Tension has ramped up in Hong Kong, again. A spokesperson for China's Defense Ministry reminded Hong Kong authorities that they can request assistance from the People's Liberation Army days after protestors marched on Hong Kong's Beijing liaison office and defaced the seal of the People's Republic of China. Meanwhile, thugs – likely members of Triad gangs – armed with sticks ambushed protestors returning home to one of Hong Kong's far-flung districts, Yuen Long. The police were criticized for their slow response and protestors occupied the arrivals hall at Hong Kong International Airport on Friday. South China Morning Post
China gets defensive. Beijing issued a white paper on defense for the first time since 2015 in which it accuses the U.S. of undermining "global strategic security." The white paper criticized the U.S. for, amongst other things, deploying its THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea – a three-year-old dispute that still rankles – and for selling weapons to Taiwan more recently. Taiwan was also accused of "pursuing a path of separatism," as were actors in Tibet and Xinjiang. South China Morning Post
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by Eamon Barrett. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here.
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